Proposal made to adjust poverty calculation levels

An elder and children from the H'mong ethic group in Bát Xát District, the northern province of Lào Cai. — VNS Photo Việt Thanh

HÀ NỘI – The Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs is drafting new multi dimensional poverty levels applicable during 2021-2025 with higher criteria.

Under its newly introduced draft, in term of income, the ministry proposes that at a minimum living standard, each person in rural areas needs VNĐ1.2 million (US$50) per month and VNĐ1.6 million ($67) per month for those living in urban areas.

The National Multidimensional Poverty (MDP) measurement has five dimensions and 11 indicators. The five dimensions are basic social services – healthcare, education, housing, clean water and hygiene, employment. The 11 indicators that measure access to social services include nutrition, health insurance, adults’ education level, children’s school attention, housing quality, housing area per capita, safe water access, hygienic toilets, income generating jobs, social insurance participation and dependent people who cannot work.

The ministry proposed that poor households should be classed as those with average income per capita less than the minimum living standard and lacking access to three or more indicators.

Near-poor households should be classed as those with average income per capital less than the minimum living standard and lacking access to less than three indicators.

Realising the quality of people’s lives involves much more than just income, the Government in November 2015 promulgated MDP measurements for application from 2016-2020, marking an important step in the country’s transition from an income-based nation to a MDP approach.

The MDP measurements include income and non-monetary dimensions such as housing, access to water and sanitation, education and health services, and social and health insurance.

Under the national MDP poverty levels applicable from 2016-2020, poor households in rural areas meet at least one of the two following criteria. The first is average income per capita of less than VNĐ 700,000 per month. The second is average income per capita ranging from VNĐ700,000 to VNĐ1 million but failing to meet three or more indicators for access to basic social services.

Poor households in urban areas are those with average income per capita of less than VNĐ 900,000. Households with average income per capital of VNĐ 900,000 –VNĐ1.3 million but fail to meet three indicators are also considered poor households.

Near-poor households in rural areas are those with average income per capita of VNĐ700,000 to VNĐ1 million but fail to meet less than three indicators of basic social services.

Near-poor households in urban areas are those with average income per capital of VNĐ900,000 – VNĐ1.3 million but fail to meet less than three indicators of basic social services.

At present, Việt Nam has about 1.3 million poor households accounting for 5.23 per cent of the total, and 1.2 million near-poor households or 4.95 per cent of the total. Việt Nam had a yearly average income per capita of US$ 2,800 last year. — VNS